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The Backstory
I have a spot. Not going to say where. Locals know it. Mostly they leave it alone because, honestly, it isn't that impressive — the break is inconsistent, the parking is a nightmare, and the paddle out is not worth describing. But it is mine. On any given summer morning you will find my pickup truck, one board, and nobody else. That is the whole point.
Then my wife's family came for the weekend.
Two adults. Three kids. One minivan so packed I genuinely do not know how the doors closed. They pulled into my driveway and I stood there on the porch watching a family-sized mountain of beach gear materialize from a vehicle that should not have been able to hold all of it. Umbrellas. Folding chairs. A wagon. A bag that appeared to contain every bucket and shovel ever manufactured. A cooler. Another cooler. A bag on top of the first cooler. A child holding a juice box already half spilled before they hit the pavement.
My brother-in-law climbed out last, sunglasses crooked, with the expression of a man who has been mediating snack disputes since before he crossed the state line. That man is doing God's work and I want the record to reflect that.
We went to the beach. The A/C in the van did essentially nothing. Somebody lost their flip flop somewhere between the parking lot and the sand. By the time I had hauled the last load from the car to a halfway-decent patch of sand, I was already sunburnt on the back of my neck and the lifeguard had blown the whistle at us twice for setting up too close to the flags. I thought about my quiet morning. My empty pickup. My mediocre-but-peaceful break. I thought about it for approximately four seconds.
Then one of the kids ran into a wave and came up laughing so hard she could barely stand, and that was the end of that thought.
I wrote this song that night at the kitchen table while everyone else was asleep, smelling like sunscreen and sand, toes still gritty in my sandals. Beast of burden. Worth every pound of it.
- Echo Thatch, 2024, Beaufort, North Carolina
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Flip flops flyin' through the minivan
Pepsi cola doin' what the A/C can't
Kids in the back, "are we there yet?"
Mom's in the front, already stressed
Buckets and shovels, umbrellas and chairs
Somehow it feels like I'm movin' outta there
By the time we park, I'm already hurtin'
But I pack all the gear like a beast of burden
[Pre-Chorus]
Sweatin' bullets just to claim a spot
Lifeguard's whistlin', I'm haulin' a lot
[Chorus]
It's chaos, madness, borderline insane
But I'd do it all over just to play my kids' games
Laughin' in the waves, runnin' wild through the sand
Yeah it's worth every meltdown, worth every plan
Crazy or not, I'd do it again—
Cause this is dad life, doin' it right, beach day with my clan
beach day with my clan
[Bridge]
Load it up, drag it out, set it up, break it down
Sunscreen, sand dreams, livin' in the now
Yeah it's nuts, yeah it's loud, but man I'm proud
This circus is mine, this family crowd
[Verse 2]
Snack time tantrums, Cheez-Its in the tide
Somebody lost goggles, someone wants a ride
Diapers in the dunes, juice box spillin'
And I swear this wagon ain't built for wheelin'
But the sun hits their faces, salt on their skin
And all that trouble feels worth it again
I'm sittin' in a chair with my toes in the blue
Thinkin', "Lord, this chaos is a dream come true"
[Pre-Chorus]
Yeah I'm sunburnt, tired, covered in sand
But I wouldn't trade it for a one-man band
[Chorus]
It's chaos, madness, borderline insane
But I'd do it all over just to play my kids' games
Laughin' in the waves, runnin' wild through the sand
Yeah it's worth every meltdown, worth every plan
Crazy or not, I'd do it again—
Cause this is dad life, doin' it right, beach day with my clan
beach day with my clan
[Bridge]
Load it up, drag it out, set it up, break it down
Sunscreen, sand dreams, livin' in the now
Yeah it's nuts, yeah it's loud, but man I'm proud
This circus is mine, this family crowd
[Final Chorus]
It's chaos, madness, borderline insane
But I'd do it all over just to play my kids' games
Laughin' in the waves, runnin' wild through the sand
Yeah it's worth every meltdown, worth every plan
Crazy or not, I'd do it again—
Cause this is dad life, doin' it right, beach day with my clan
beach day with my clan